News
SAM Blasts Congressional Move to Dole Out Marijuana and Psychedelics to Veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) condemned the House of Representatives’ approval of two amendments to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations bill—Amendment #84 and Amendment […]
SAM DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED BY GOVERNOR ABBOTT’S VETO OF SB 3
AUSTIN, TX – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following […]
Friday Fact: Veterans addicted to marijuana are dying by suicide
Data from the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report outlines another sad chapter in the story of marijuana and its terrible effects on mental health. Among all veterans who […]
SAM Issues Strong Warning to Missouri Voters: Reject American Shaman’s Dangerous THC Deregulation Scheme
Kansas City, Missouri – Today, Luke Niforatos, Executive Vice President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), issued the following statement in response to the newly proposed Missouri ballot initiative backed […]
SAM CALLS ON GOV. ABBOTT TO PROTECT KIDS IN TEXAS AND SIGN SB 3 INTO LAW
AUSTIN, TX — Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) has sent a formal letter to Governor Greg Abbott urging him to sign Texas’ Senate Bill 3 into law, a bill that […]
Friday Fact 6/13/2025: Big Marijuana’s Stock is Crashing
More bad news for Big Marijuana. The largest pot ETF, AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis, is getting absolutely clocked. This week saw it hovering well below $2.50, a massive climbdown from its […]
Leading Experts Warn Marijuana Rescheduling Driven by Politics in Stunning JAMA Psychiatry Report
Report Underscores SAM’s Position That Prevention Must Remain Top Priority WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a powerful new report published today in JAMA Psychiatry, two of the nation’s foremost experts in […]
BOMBSHELL FOR DELTA-8 DEALERS: FDA WARNS THEY’RE PEDDLING ILLEGALLY ADULTERATED PRODUCTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FDA has put anybody selling food and beverages adulterated with Delta-8 THC on notice. Delta-8 is an intoxicating derivative of hemp previously permitted for sale under a […]
Friday Fact 6/6/2025: Going to the hospital for marijuana ups your risk of death
Marijuana isn’t harmless. In fact, it’s intimately linked with dying. Or so suggests a frightening study from Ontario. It examined whether individuals who received hospital-based care for cannabis use disorder […]
DELTA-8 THC BAN IN BASE TEXT OF MUST-PASS APPROPRIATIONS BILL, COMMITTEE SAYS THC BAN “SUPPORTS MANDATE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House leaders struck a blow for long-overdue sanity in U.S. drug laws. The House Appropriations Committee released its FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and […]
Friday Fact 5/30/2025: Bad News on Marijuana, Mental Health, and Teens
More worrying news on how marijuana can drive severe mental illness: A systematic review published in Biomolecules in March found that “cannabinoids likely contribute to chronic psychotic events and schizophrenia, […]
SAM Applauds the Appointment of Doug Simon as Director of the US Department of Transportation’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy Compliance (ODPAC)
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), and Luke Niforatos, Executive Vice President of SAM, released the following statement congratulating Doug Simon on being named the […]
SAM: BAN ON THC DRUGS WILL BE A WIN FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
SAM Applauds the Texas State Senate, House for Passing Critical Reforms to Eliminate Hemp-Derived THC Drug Products (AUSTIN, TX) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time […]
GOVERNOR LEE, STATE LAWMAKERS TAKE A STRONG STEP FORWARD TO KEEP TENNESSEE’S KIDS SAFE FROM DANGEROUS, PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
New Legislation Bans Sales of Drugs with THC-A Levels Above 0.3% (NASHVILLE, TN) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, released […]
Want to Quit Alcohol? Stay Away From THC
Swapping one addictive, mind-altering substance for another isn’t harm reduction—it’s exploitation. THC in liquid form shouldn’t be sold as filling a niche for those wanting to quit alcohol (“Your Health: […]
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMS STATE-LEVEL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IS LEADING TO INTERNATIONAL CRIME SYNDICATES OPERATING IN BOTH LEGAL AND ILLICIT MARKETPLACE
New DEA Report Finds Rise in Marijuana Potency Increasing, Expansion of the Illicit Market, Growing Concerns about Youth Vaping and Environmental Damage (WASHINGTON, DC) – The rapid-expansion of state-legal marijuana […]
Dr. Kevin A. Sabet in Newsweek: To Save America’s Youth, Lawmakers Should Invest in Drug Prevention | Opinion
Prevention remains one of the most effective and cost-conscious tools we have in our fight against the drug crisis. This National Prevention Week, we urge lawmakers to renew their investments in […]
Pennsylvania Senate Committee Rightly Rejects Dangerous State-Run Marijuana Plan
SAM Applauds Senate Committee for Voting Down HB 1200, Cites Major Public Health Risks (HARRISBURG, PA) – Today, the Pennsylvania Senate Law and Justice Committee rightly rejected HB 1200, a radical […]
Dr. Kevin A. Sabet in Alcoholism Drug Addiction Weekly: We Need Health Warning Labels on Marijuana and THC Drug Products
More young people are experimenting with marijuana and THC drugs, like cigarettes at a time not so long ago. It is true that youth were using marijuana way back when […]
Friday Fact 5/9/2025: Adverse effects of prenatal marijuana use on neonatal outcomes
A systematic review found that prenatal marijuana use is associated with significantly increased odds of adverse neonatal outcomes, even after adjusting for factors such as tobacco use. Findings showed increased risks for […]
STATE-OPERATED POT SHOPS ARE LEGALLY DUBIOUS, PRESENT SERIOUS RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
Pot-Pushing Politicians Are Trading Young People’s Futures For More Government Spending (HARRISBURG, PA) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents […]
Jordan Davidson in Politico Pro: Congress takes more conservative approach to marijuana policy
Any cannabis legislation will face tough odds, but the bills introduced cater specifically to the GOP majorities. Five months into the current Congress, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle […]
Friday Fact 5/1/2025: Lung cancer patients who smoked marijuana and tobacco were diagnosed with the condition 2.8 years earlier than those who smoked tobacco but not marijuana
A study from researchers at the Creighton University School of Medicine found that lung cancer patients who smoked marijuana and tobacco were diagnosed with the condition 2.8 years earlier than […]
NEW YORKERS ARE BEARING THE BRUNT OF POT-PUSHING POLITICIANS’ BAD DECISIONS
Increased ER Visits the Latest Consequence of New York’s Embrace of Commercial Marijuana (NEW YORK, NY) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug […]
